Hearing of the House Appropriations Committee - Culberson Urges FEMA to Waive Rental Assistance Rule
Hearing
Last week, Representative John Culberson (TX-07), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) and member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, participated in a Fiscal Year 2019 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hearing. During the hearing, he urged FEMA Administrator Brock Long to take immediate action to waive a troublesome rule that is preventing Harvey survivors from receiving continued rental assistance.
Under current law, FEMA is required to provide disaster relief to families affected by natural disasters. However, FEMA is denying rental assistance to individuals whose post-disaster housing costs are 30 percent or less of their household income. Rep. Culberson previously filed a bill, H.R. 4930, the Disaster Assistance Rental Fairness Act, to encourage FEMA to immediately waive the continued rental assistance rule.
Rep. Culberson: "[Administrator Long,] There are a couple other really small fixes that you have the authority to do right now that would make a dramatic difference for homeowners thousands of whom are living on the second floor of their homes in my district with all the sheet rock torn out on the first floor and because many times they were denied rental assistance."
Rep. Culberson: " If you go to the FEMA website and ask what specific items are covered by housing assistance, it tells you that this housing assistance includes reimbursement for short-term hotel expenses, money to rent a place to live for up to 18 months while your home is being repaired -- and the immediate question a homeowner has, Administrator, is, "does my income matter?' Well, the law says no, it doesn't matter, and, in fact, your website says, "does my income need to be a certain dollar amount to qualify?' Answer: "No, FEMA's housing assistance program is available regardless of income to anybody who suffered damage or losses.' But that's not the way the bureaucrats in FEMA are administering the program."
Rep. Culberson: "They [FEMA] are denying rental assistance to thousands of my constituents who have sunk all their money in their home. They're not wealthy; they've got kids in college, a mortgage that they're still paying on a home that's flooded out, and having to pay rent, in a lot of cases, to stay in the school district and they're being denied rental assistance. But, you've got the authority literally to just change that and comply with what is on your website. Would you please do that? And, how quickly can you do that?"
Admin. Long: "Congressman, as we spoke the other day I wasn't aware of the issue until you raised it the bottom line is that it spawned very deliberate conversations, and we're actually going to be entering into the rule-making process to look at a whole host of why do we put these ramifications on individual assistance to begin with?"
Admin. Long: "I will continue to work with you, and I appreciate you raising the issue. As you know, I am always [between] a rock and hard place when it comes to being deliberate and understanding. That policy that was put into place, I found out the other day it was put in as the result of the 2001 terrorism events in New York, and I'm trying to understand why, and I'm trying to understand what the ramifications are by moving it, but we're trying to move as quickly as we can, and I'll stay in contact with you."
Rep. Culberson: "Now, you're a bold a decisive person. I can tell you're letting the lawyers discourage you and slow you up don't do that. It's clear as a bell; just go for it.
Rep. Culberson: "Administrator Long, this rental assistance thing is really a problem. It really bothers me a lot, because it's on the brink of being 8 months since the storm made landfall, and the Stafford Act says you can't discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, creed, or income. Your rule online says you will not discriminate against people on the basis of income; and this is really a desperate problem for people."
Admin. Long: "I will continue to work with you, and I appreciate you raising the issue. As you know, I am always [between] a rock and hard place when it comes to being deliberate and understanding. That policy that was put into place, I found out the other day it was put in as the result of the 2001 terrorism events in New York, and I'm trying to understand why, and I'm trying to understand what the ramifications are by moving it, but we're trying to move as quickly as we can, and I'll stay in contact with you."
Rep. Culberson: "Now, you're a bold a decisive person. I can tell you're letting the lawyers discourage you and slow you up don't do that. It's clear as a bell; just go for it.
Rep. Culberson: "Administrator Long, this rental assistance thing is really a problem. It really bothers me a lot, because it's on the brink of being 8 months since the storm made landfall, and the Stafford Act says you can't discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, creed, or income. Your rule online says you will not discriminate against people on the basis of income; and this is really a desperate problem for people."
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